Okay so I just finished building my second computer incarnation. I bought and resold components and here is my final edition for a while, I think. I replaced a core 2 duo E7500, intel media center uAtx mobo, 4 G corsair ddr2 800 mhz ram.

Few general questions/comments I have from this experience. Migrating to the SSD from the HD was not too difficult. I successfully enable ACHI mode or whatever by using regedit and following the directions from a post found on this forum. Aside from that and using Intel’s toolbox are there any other tweaks worth considering?

Another thing I have noticed is that the i5 does not support the DDR-3 RAM at the 2000 speed. It’s a limitation of the cpu and not the mobo, from the research I did. It seems I would need an i7 to use the ram at the 2000 setting. Oh well the ram was the same price as DDR3 1600 basically.

I successfully overclocked the i5 650 to about 4.0 ghz. A few things I have noticed; the stock cooler is not adequate for this cpu at stock settings, even with an aftermarket scythe fan/heatsink installed I had from another build the system still ran hot. I realize the case I am using is not ideal but I do have two 80 cm fans and one 120 cm fan installed. Suppose my build is not finished until I get the heat issues under control while the processor is under load. Long gaming sessions during the summer running stock settings pushes the cpu to the mid 60’s C.

The motherboard I bought as an open box item and everything works except the sound. The onboard sound and HD sound on the front of the case do not work. The program just says noting plugged in regardless of whether I plug a jack into any port. Reinstalled drivers etc to no avail, I really think something is faulty with the mobo itself. I had a spare usb sound card lying around I could use so it was not too disappointing.

All in all I am pleased with how the thing runs. The SSD made boot time take a little less time to load, the programs open really fast, and it was not too horribly expensive for 80G drive, a reasonable size for system files. The game I built this computer for to play is called Global Agenda which is an unreal engine physics type game. I can run it at max settings and the lowest average frame rate is about 44 FPS but it mostly stays around 55-63. Compared to the E7500 I had before there is a noticeable difference.

I decided to get the i5 thinking that I would like to use it in a HTPC build someday in the future when I can afford an i7. How’d I do?

Alright I suffered buyers remorse with the Intel SSD and my DSL modem died after 6 years of intense use. So the only choice I had was to return the SSD. I must say I feel lucky that I live one mile away from a Micro-Center.

I was able to buy a Zalman CNOS9900A cpu cooler besides a much nicer modem/router combo. I could not find a store that stocked a plain DSL modem.

After going back to my WD 7200 drive it made me sort of miss my SSD drive but not really. For me it was more a novelty once prices come down a little more I will buy another. Plus it looks like getting a sata III SSD is really the was to go.

Ok so what is with Intel's attachment design for the 775 and 1156 chipsets. Very not reliable unless you use some silicone glue to hold the little plastic pressure barbs in place. This zalman cooler helped so much it blew my scythe cooler w 120 mm fan away. Now my i5 OC'd to 4.1 GZ never reaches above 55C while playing Global Agenda for 3 hours or more.